HISTORY

Bordering Hungary, Ukraine, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria; Romania is the third largest Eastern European country after Russia and Ukraine. The land was inhabited by the ancient Dacians. Roman emperor Trajan conquered it in the 2nd century and introduced the Latin speaking tribes. Waves of migrants who were Huns, Goths, Avars, Slavs, Bulgars and Magyars sweep into this area during the Middle Ages. In the 16th century, the Ottoman Empire expanded into Romania. Many Ottoman influences and building designs remain to this day. With Russian assistance, the War of Independence in 1878 freed Romania from Ottoman. The defeat of Austria-Hungary in 1918, during WWI, paved the way for a modern nation.

After the fall of France in May 1940, Romania was isolated. Russia moved in to occupied Bessarabia and Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy forced it to cede northern Transylvania, with its 2.6 million population, to Hungary. Romania joined the Nazis in 1941 in order to recover Bessarabia. But, the anti-Nazi resentment grew stronger through the years. In August 1944, Romania suddenly changed sides, declared war on Nazi Germany and joined the approaching Russian troops. The Romanian army went on to fight in Hungary and Czechoslovakia. The costs of WWII were appalling. Half a million Romanian soldiers perished fighting for the Axis powers and another quarter of a million died fighting alongside the Allies. After the war, the Communist party took over the government, with backing from Moscow, and started an intense period of Russification. Prewar leaders, prominent intellectuals and dissidents were arrested and placed in hard-labor camps.

In 1989, the fire of freedom swept across Eastern Europe. On December 15, Father Laszlo Tokes publicly condemned the dictator Ceausescu from his Hungarian church in Timisoara. The troops sent to crush the rebellion in Timisoara, ended up taking the side of the demonstrators. Soon mass rallies arose nationwide. By December 25, 1989, Ceausescu was arrested after fleeing the capital. This historical event began a new era for a democratic Romania and 22 million Romanians joined the free world on that day.

Poverty remains an enormous problem for this country, many struggling below the poverty line. Natural disasters have worsened the situation. The government’s inexperience and scandals are also to blame. Nevertheless, the younger generation is optimistic about their future; the new parliament in early 2000 has approved many new measurements to improve the economy.

CULTURE

Few European nations feature such a mixture of cultures. Transylvanian towns bear the mark of medieval Hungary and Germany, Bucovina evokes Byzantium, western Romania is a reminder of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Constanta and Dobruja bear the imprint of Roman and Turkish influences and Bucharest is a beautiful city with French characteristics. It is called "The Paris of the East".

Education is free from elementary through university but most poor families, in the rural areas, need children to help in the fields and cannot afford for them to attend school. It is estimated that only 68% of students attend the secondary school, much fewer attend the universities. Romanian is the national language and is much closer to classical Latin then other Romance languages. French, Italian and Spanish speaking people may find the written Romanian language comprehensible but may not understand it verbally. Both English and French are taught in schools. Most movies and TV programs are in their original languages with Romanian subtitles.

Romania is a very friendly country. Men and women greet each other with a kiss and women often walk along the street holding hands. When bargaining with the traders, they express sympathy for the situation rather than getting upset with the considered high prices. People are in no hurry in their daily life and a Romanian would go out of his way to talk to or to help a traveler. They are also proud of their natural heritage and folk culture.

OUR MISSION

Evangelicals comprise about 3.5% of the population. The majority of Christian churches are attended by Hungarians, such as the Hungarian Reformed Church in Transylvania in the north; 86% of Romanians are Orthodox, mainly in the south and east. Small Turkish Muslim communities are concentrated in Constanta and Mangalia.

There are more than 1.5 million Gypsies (Roma) remaining in Romania. It is the largest such community in the world. The wandering pilgrims from Persia arrived in the Balkans in medieval times and gradually spread over Europe; many of this nomadic minority has since made their home here. Although the Gypsies have worked hard to assimilate into the Romanian culture, unfortunately, they have never been accepted by their dreamed homeland. It was estimated that 50% of the Gypsy population was massacred by the Nazis. The remaining Gypsies were persecuted under the communist regime and, even today, the authorities look down on their non-conformist lifestyle. Gypsy children are often kept out of the local schools, their villages are burned by nationalist mobs, in order to evict them from their settlements, and police brutality against them is systematic. They are the "Unwanted people". How did the Gypsies survive these centuries of prejudices and injustices? It was said, "just look into the weary and perplexed faces of the Gypsies, that answers it all."

We will be working with Romanian Protestant churches as well as Roma (Gypsies) Christian Churches and playing with those beautiful children in the orphanages. Please open your hearts to the people of this impoverished and deprived country and bring the joy of Christ to them in the summer of 2004!

Area: 237,500 sq km (91,700 sq mi)
Population: 22.5 million
Capital city: Bucharest (pop 2 million)
People: Romanians (90%), Hungarians (7%), Roma (Gypsies) (2%), Germans, Ukrainians
Language: Romanian, Hungarian (in Transylvania)
Religion: Romanian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Protestant
Government: Republic
President: Ion Iliescu
Prime Minister: Adrian Nastase

GDP: US$90 billion
GDP per head: US$4000
Annual growth: -8%
Inflation: 40%
Major industries: Agriculture, manufacturing
Major trading partners: EU (esp. Germany, Italy, France), USA, Turkey

Source: Lonely Planet and Romania & Moldova

Would you spend two years serving the Lord in Romania?

Are you ready to serve our Lord Jesus Christ and to dedicate your talents and energies toward His plan for your life? Overseas Summer Missions is a uniquely organized, worldwide network ministry. You can be a part of this community and join with us in our strategic planning and our vision to bring people to the Kingdom of God. It will not only be an exciting and rewarding experience, but above all, it will bear fruits that will last for eternity.

We are seeking full-time staff members who have a love for God and a sincere desire to serve Him. To be assigned to Romania, with a minimum of 2 years commitment. If you have an available heart, please pray for God’s will for you to take these challenges and opportunities to serve overseas, and because of your effort, thousands of lives will be changed.

"Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it" 1 Thess. 5:24.

We are currently accepting applications for full-time staff. If you are considering joining our ministry, please contact Frank Holiday at frank@OSMusa.org for more information regarding qualifications, missions and fund raisings.